What happened (Spain and France): evacuation at very large scale
Wildfires in Spain and France continued over several days and drove mass evacuations. Fire services in both countries were reported to be overstretched, showing sustained operational strain during prolonged incidents.
France: evacuation around Bordeaux
French authorities evacuated about 197,000 people around Bordeaux, including people in holiday areas. The French interior minister described the Bordeaux evacuation as likely the biggest peacetime evacuation France has seen. Two French firefighters died earlier in the week near Bordeaux.
Spain: evacuation west of Madrid and a separate fire near Valencia
In Spain, authorities evacuated around 60,000 people from villages west of Madrid. The Spanish prime minister visited the affected zone and stressed that saving lives was the top priority. Local officials around Madrid said the fire’s scale was unusually severe. A separate Spanish fire near Valencia reportedly killed one person before firefighters brought it under control.
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